Page 23 of Deputies Under Fire
Eden looked at Rory, who was already taking out his phone. “I’m arranging a meeting with Diedre,” he said. “I think it’s time we chatted with her in person.”
Eden thought so, too. Because if Ike was telling the truth, then maybe the unthinkable had happened. Mercy. Had Diedre and Helen created an unholy alliance to go after a man they wanted to destroy?
When Rory finished his call, he turned to her. “Diedre says we can see her now. It’ll take us about twenty-five minutes to get to her place. Are you game?”
“Absolutely.” She glanced in the interview room. “Livvy will have to cut Ike loose soon, anyway, and I’d rather not be around for that.”
Eden didn’t mind having words with Ike, but it would be a waste of breath. Besides, she figured Arnette was on the verge of filing a complaint of police harassment, and it was better not to add any fuel to that.
The moment she and Rory were in the cruiser, Eden made a call to Leslie, putting it on speaker, and the nanny answered right away.
“We’re all settled in,” Leslie said. “And Tyler is having a blast with the toys in the playroom.” As usual, the nanny soundedupbeat, but Eden still detected the worry. “Is everything okay with Rory and you?”
“We’re on our way to interview a person of interest,” Eden explained. “We just wanted to see how Tyler and you were doing.”
“Listen for yourself,” Leslie said, and she must have moved her phone closer to Tyler, because Eden could hear Tyler babbling. And laughing.
That did her heart good to hear her baby so happy. Thankfully, he was too young to understand what was going on.
“Grace and Dutton have been great,” Leslie went on. “They’ve put Tyler in the nursery since baby Nash is still sleeping in their room. I’m in the guest suite directly across the hall from Tyler. I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
“Thank you,” Eden and Rory said together.
It was Eden who continued, doling out the news that Leslie needed to know. “Ike will likely be released if he hasn’t been already. We didn’t have enough grounds to hold him.”
Leslie stayed quiet a moment. “Dutton insisted his father wouldn’t get near this place.”
“And he won’t.” She hoped. “Just keep Tyler inside for a while, all right? Maybe it won’t be long before we get all of this sorted out.”
“Yes,” Leslie muttered. “Stay safe,” she added, and after saying their goodbyes, Eden ended the call.
Eden’s sigh was a little louder than she’d intended, and Rory reached across the seat to take hold of her hand. Somehow, it seemed just as intimate as a kiss. And Eden welcomed it. Having their son in possible danger was bad enough, and she couldn’t imagine going through this without Rory.
Since she had to get her mind off Tyler, Eden eased her hand from Rory’s and used her phone to start getting some workdone. She located the number for the Elm and called the restaurant.
It took her a couple of minutes to work her way up to the manager, but once she got through, it was confirmed that Diedre had indeed made reservations there. She got the info she needed from the manager, ended the call and then groaned.
“Five and a half months ago,” she said to Rory. “That’s when Diedre made a reservation for three at the Elm.”
“Five and a half months,” he repeated. He didn’t groan. He cursed.
And she knew why. That was shortly before Mellie’s murder.
It could be a coincidence. In fact, it probably was because she was still having a hard time imagining three of Ike’s enemies plotting murder over a meal.
“I don’t suppose the manager could recall anything about the lunch?”
Eden shook her head. “And they only keep security-cam feed for a week.” She went to a search engine to see what she could find. “I’ll look through social media to see if Diedre posted or was tagged in a photo of the lunch.”
Though she was having a hard time imagining that as well. If this trio had been discussing anything remotely criminal, they likely wouldn’t have wanted to document the occasion. And that’s why Eden widened her search to anyone posting a photo from the Elm during the time and date of Diedre’s reservation. Data mining could be a tedious process, but she’d gotten lucky a couple of times using this angle.
She looked up from her search and realized that Rory was firing glances in the rearview mirror. “Everything all right?” she asked, automatically turning to have a look.
“It’s good. I’m just keeping an eye out,” he assured her.
There were a couple of cars behind and in front of them now, but she couldn’t see a threat. Then again, the threat could bethere so she was glad Rory was staying vigilant. She did, too, while she continued her search.
“No photos or posts for the time of the reservation,” she told Rory. “But Diedre is very active on social media. She has a lot of bad things to say about Ike.” She continued to scan through the dozens of daily posts. “The woman documented most of her meals, the weather and even her schedule. She made it very easy for the killer to know exactly where she would be.”
